


Fly Me to the Moon

by Stargirl4Ever



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Abduction, Action/Adventure, Comic Violence, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Kissing, Marvel Universe, Post-Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Reader-Insert, Romance, Star-Lord Is Shameless, Swearing, sexy stuff if you know what I mean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-02-21 00:29:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2448683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stargirl4Ever/pseuds/Stargirl4Ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being abducted from Earth by poachers for reasons unknown, you are freed by the Guardians of the Galaxy and somehow find yourself living aboard the starship Milano with the dorky (and attractive) outlaw Peter Quill, known to a few as 'Star-Lord'. Will one of your wild adventures be the end of you, or will it be by the never-ending loop of Awesome Mix Vol. 1?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed that there weren't many Guardians of the Galaxy reader insert stories, so here's my contribution. Peter Quill is such a likable dork!

“Fly me to the moon.....Jupiter and Mars...In other words, baby, kiss me!” You sang along quietly with Frank Sinatra through your Mp3 player.

You were walking back to your apartment from one of the night classes at the local college. It was dark and you were alone, but the city you lived in was known for being relatively safe, and although your music was somewhat loud, you were always alert of your surroundings. The area you were in was mostly industrial, and not many people lived nearby. Safe, right? It always had been before.

“ _Astronomy 101_ ” was the class that had just ended. The stars... Oh the stars! You loved them to no end. It was infinitely fascinating, and when you saw Astronomy 101 as one of the offered classes, you couldn't help but sign up. Learning about the stars and the universe just really did it for you.

Your light mood changed when felt a chill on the back of your neck, as if someone was watching you. You turned around but couldn't see anyone. Quickly, you took out your earbuds and tucked them into your messenger bag. You didn’t dismiss yourself and your instincts, but you did tell yourself to calm down a little. Your hands had been shaking slightly, and your breathing had become a bit rapid, and in case there was actually something wrong, you wanted to be relaxed and prepared for an emergency.

The word 'emergency' was a tiny bit of an understatement.

Multiple bright lights suddenly flared around you and something loudly hummed over your head. At first you thought it was a helicopter, but it was much too large, and it didn’t sound like it had any blades. And why would a helicopter have more than one light trained on you?

Your body began to move itself, and you were trying to run away, but the large hovering whatever-it-was just followed. To your horror, you tripped and sprawled face-first into the hard asphalt, scraping your palms and cheek. You tried to scramble up, but a blueish-white beam of light began to surround you.

The light temporarily blinded you, and you felt yourself rising from the Earth. You tried to move, but found your whole body paralyzed, and if you weren't panicked before, you were definitely panicking now. You couldn't scream, or call for help. For the first time in your grown-up life, you were completely and _utterly_ helpless.

This only happened in movies. You couldn't be _abducted_. There was no such thing as UFOs...right? You were the only person in your Astronomy 101 class who didn’t believe in UFOs or those types of stupid conspiracy theories. However, that didn’t mean you didn’t believe in alien life. If there was no such thing as UFOs, what was going on right now? You repeated the question to yourself several times.

You felt yourself being yanked upwards by someone (or something) strong, and before your eyes could adjust to the different lighting and you could take advantage of being un-paralyzed, you felt something sharp being stabbed into your stomach followed by an excruciating pain throughout your body.

Then, everything went blank.

When you came to, you were sprawled on a cold floor on your stomach. You felt groggy, and when you tried to push yourself up, you felt a lot of pain in the place your stomach was stabbed, or whatever they'd done to you. How long had you been out? When you finally were able to sit up, you realized you were in some sort of large cage or cell. The floor and back wall were bare metal.

The cage you were in was surrounded by cargo and crates, and in front of the cage was a table and you noticed that your messenger bag was hanging on a hook on the wall. Your hand flew to your side where your bag usually was. A couple of your possessions were laid out on the table, including your Mp3 player, your pocket knife, and a couple sanitary pads, which had been opened. You could only wonder why they might have wanted to open them.

You looked to the corner to see some sort of odd-looking camera trained on you. You stood up on shaky legs, and when you took a couple steps to the left, the camera followed you. When you did the same to the right, the camera followed you again. That meant no successful escape attempts from you.

You heard heavy footsteps approaching, and when the metal door loudly unlocked and swung forward violently, you jumped backwards and pressed you back against the wall, as far away from your kidnappers as you could. You quickly recalled negotiation tactics and other speaking ideas that could potentially save your life.

You swallowed when you saw that your captives weren’t human-looking at all. The one closest to you, who you figured to be the leader by his authoritative look, was a little shorter than you were and very stocky. He had brownish skin, clown-red cropped hair, ridges on his nose, and large blue eyes. Behind him were several others that looked kind of like him to varying degrees. They were speaking in a language you couldn't understand. It was rough, and unlike anything you'd ever heard before.

He opened the door, using a scanner-thing, and you were ready to fight back, but the alien grabbed you painfully by your hair and clipped something onto the back of your ear. It happened so quick that you didn't get to see what it was. There was an electric whirring and some pain. The alien guy took your temporary distraction as an opportunity to leave and lock the door again.

To your surprise, he spoke and you understood him this time, though his voice was still grating. “Would ya’ look at that now boys!”

“Yer’ a pretty little thing, ain't ya?” One of the others said, reaching through the bars of the cage, reaching his clawed three-fingered hand to you as though you were a dog. With a surge of courage (and some curiosity) you jumped forward, startling the group and sending them back a bit. You realized that they were more scared of you than you were of them. They started laughing, but you didn't.

“We’ll come back later, when it’s warmed up to us.” The leader said, laughing lecherously with a hint of nervousness. On the way out, he ran his claws along each of the cage bars, and you had to suppress a shiver, stepping back some. “The client won’t mind it arriving with a few bruises and scratches, eh?” They all laughed once again.

When they were finally gone, you sunk to the ground, your knees drawn up to your chest. You breathed out a shuddering sigh. What would you do? Your mind began to wonder about the 'client', and how maybe you were gonna be sold as a sex slave or something.

You felt tears well in your eyes, but you wouldn't let yourself cry. Not here, not now. If you wanted to survive, you’d have to be a lot braver than that. You took deep breaths and fingered the seemingly embedded translator device in your ear. You didn't know it, but it was standard procedure for all beings to get a universal translator, as proclaimed by the Nova Conventions. 

* * *

Meanwhile, aboard the ship _Milano_ , Rocket leaned out of his seat to investigate a flashing light coming from the dashboard. It was an alert signal that lit up when a ship was coming within close range of the _Milano_.

He looked at the ship’s ID and smirked wickedly. “Would you look at that, Groot. It’s _The Weian Hawk_.” The tiny potted Groot, no bigger than a stick, blinked at him contentedly.

Rocket slapped the dashboard happily before running down the stairs and through the hall to notify the head asshole of the _Milano_ about the incoming ship and why it was so important.

Rocket headed towards Quill's new bedroom. Peter had originally slept on a small bunk below the cabin, but when the rest of the crew jumped on board, his bunk, and the bunk on the opposite wall, went to them. Peter got his own small room, and Rocket resigned to throwing together a bed for himself in some drawer. Rocket still very much disliked Peter for getting his own room and bathroom.

Peter Quill was laying on his mattress in nothing but his underwear, happily throwing darts into a virtual dartboard and drinking something called “Tiny Vengeance”. He heard knocking on the door and instantly knew it was Rocket, calling him in.

Rocket entered, and wrinkled his face in disgust upon seeing Quill. “Uh, there’s a ship approaching.”

Peter didn’t look at all interested. “ _And_?” He said, throwing a dart and missing the dartboard horribly.

“The bastards stole money from us last month.” Rocket said, growing impatient and recalling what happened.

Peter jumped up, scattering dirty clothes and various empty food cartons and pouches. “ _The Weian Hawk_?”

“Uh-huh.” Rocket said, crossing his arms and feeling the familiar need to just kill someone. He snickered as Quill began looking around his filthy room for his 'cool clothes'. Rocket held the long red coat from off of the floor and tossed towards Quill.

“Thanks.” Peter said, looking at Rocket awkwardly for a second. “Go on, get outta here. Jump start the engines and notify everyone that somethin’s ‘bout to go down.”

“Roger that.” Rocket said, accentuating the 'r' sound and giving a mocking salute to him before running back to the cockpit. He started the engines and locked all targets onto _The Weian Hawk_. He clicked on the intercom and spoke into it, hearing his voice satisfyingly echo through the ship.

“Rocket speaking, in case you didn’t know. We’re about to slam _The Weian Hawk_ to the bottom of the galaxy. Not too long ago, those guys conned us and ran away. We’re gonna make it _all_ right now.”

Gamora and Drax looked up from a Terran game called 'chess' to listen before getting ready for battle.

Peter ran towards the cockpit, buttoning his pants and pulling the salvaged  _Awesome Mix Vol. 1_ from his coat pocket. He kissed it before popping it into the tape player above his old bunk. Rocket looked down from the cockpit in time to see Quill press the play button.

Rocket groaned loudly.

_“OOGA-CHAKA OOGA-OOGA-OOGA-CHAKA OOGA-OOGA-OOGA-CHAKA....”_

Rocket excitedly ran to the drawer that stashed his most prized weapons and grinned evilly. “We gonna sink ‘em?” Rocket shouted over the loud, stupid, music back in the cockpit.

“Only if we need to.” Quill said, smiling. Drax and Gamora entered the cabin, ready for battle. Groot waved his tiny arms around, happy to see everyone together.

“A nice, gentle warning shot for now, boss?” Rocket said excitedly, holding the triggers for one of the cannons. Quill gave him a thumbs up.

“ _Woo_!” Rocket yelled as he fired the bolt. It hit the ship spot on.

* * *

You looked up and gasped when the ship suddenly lurched to the side with a loud sound. You heard several more explosions before the ship shook violently. Sirens wailed and yellow warning lights flashed across the room. It went on for several minutes before another explosion sounded and the ship shuddered fiercely. All lights and sounds ceased and it suddenly became freezing cold.

You were kind of afraid, alone in the darkness. The main lights sputtered back on, but it was still freezing. You wrapped your arms around yourself, wondering what was happening.

* * *

“ _You_ give it to us, and _I_ don’t have to use _this_.” Peter said, gesturing with one of his quad blasters. “It’s simple, something that I know your species is used to.”

The scared-looking Ewig captain of the ship sent his men to retrieve the conned money, wanting to get away with at least his life. “Of course, Star-Lord.” Peter got a lot of satisfaction in hearing someone call him by his outlaw name.

Gamora was scanning the ship for valuable cargo with a handheld device when something surprised her. Is that what she thought it was? She furrowed her brow. Drax looked at the scanner as well.

“Quill?” Gamora said urgently. “You’re not going to believe this.”

Drax spoke up in his typical manner. “I think he will believe this just fine.”

Dismissing Drax’s naive comment, Peter took the scanner and looked at it.

“A female Terran. Another human.” Gamora said seriously.

“Now _that’s_ precious cargo if I’d ever heard of any.” Rocket said in a salaciously comedic way.

“Where is she?” Peter asked hurriedly. If she was cargo, he was sure as hell going to liberate her. “Show me!” Peter impatiently aimed the quad shooter at the Ewig captain's head. They followed him through the cramped ship.

“She’s in there.” The Ewig whimpered, pointing to the heavy door. “The power went out, engaging the auto-lock system. It won’t unlock for another twenty-five—”

Rocket cut him off. “Stand back everybody.” He said, pulling a charge line and set of mini-explosives from one of the pouches on his orange uniform. This was his area of expertise. Besides, he'd never seen a Terran girl before. He set everything up, knocked on the door a couple times to warn the chick, and detonated the contained explosion system.

Before you could register what the tapping on the door was, an explosion blew a hole in the door and you dropped and covered your head. It swung open and you were more than surprised to see a raccoon with a human-like smirk enter the room. At least, you think it’s raccoon. It looked at you, and you moved to the back of the cage.

“She looks like a Xandarian.” The raccoon said in a somewhat disappointed male voice.

“ _What t_ _he hell_?” You said before you could stop yourself. The raccoon shot you an incredulous look.

“Get out of my way!” You heard. You looked up to see a scruffy looking young man in a red coat walk quickly to the cage. “Get her out.” He ordered the alien guy from earlier. A green alien woman like from Star Trek entered the room with a WWE wrestler-looking guy covered in tattoos at her side.

The alien captain unlocked your cage and stepped away from it, and the dude in the red coat stepped in front of the entrance, one arm on the top of the door, leaning his head down. He looked shocked for a second as he looked at you.

You didn’t move an inch, but your face looked interested.

“Uh, hey.” The red-coat guy said softly with a cheeky grin. Your expression changed when his did.

“I’m a human too, I guess. My name’s Star-Lord.” He said a little awkwardly. He reached for your hand. What he meant by "I guess" you wouldn't ask.

The raccoon snorted. “No it ain't.” Star-Lord shot him an annoyed look.

You gingerly placed your hand into his gloved one, and he carefully helped you out. He could feel your slight shivering. Could you come across as any weaker? Maybe it was a lack of oxygen or something.

“You cold? Here.” When Star-Lord took off his coat and draped it over your shoulders, you were grateful, among other feelings. The raccoon rolled his eyes.

“Thanks.” You said quietly. Star-Lord looked at you sweetly.

“We’ll be going now, and if I ever see you again, don’t think we won’t sink you.” He threatened the nasty alien, waving an odd-looking device to the captain. You could only assume it was some sort of gun.

Star-Lord wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close to his side. “We’re gonna go to my starship.”, he said. You didn’t protest. So far, the group seemed trustworthy, and Star-Lord was apparently sort of a human.

“My bag!” You exclaimed after a moment of realization, turning to Star-Lord. He walked back with you to the cargo room and grabbed your messenger bag, picking up your knife and Mp3 player from the floor where it slid off the table and stuffing them into your bag. Your earbuds, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen.

“Uh, do you happen to have earbuds?” You asked looking at Star-Lord. He looked confused for a second, and you rephrased. “Headphones?” You gestured to your ears.

He instantly lit up. “Yeah!”

If Star-Lord was all that he seemed to be, staying in a starship with him didn’t sound half-bad.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You board the starship Milano, meet everyone, and Star-Lord helps you out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Much fun! So sexy! I hope you like it! Very happy!

“ _Whoa_...” You mouthed as you boarded the docked starship.

“Welcome aboard the _Milano_.” Star-Lord said as you passed through the vacuum-proof gangway into what you figured to be the small cargo bay. You had seen enough episodes of the TV show _Firefly_ to know the parts of a starship. Star-Lord hadn’t removed his arm and he was guiding you towards a ladder.

He let you go and you climbed slowly up the ladder, trying not to show how much pain you were in around your navel. Star-Lord was right behind you. When you got near the top of the ladder, the WWE alien guy lifted you up from under your arms and set you down on your feet.

“Thanks.” You said, looking at his complex red tattoos.

“You're welcome, Terran female. I am Drax, the Destroyer.” He said kindly and simply for such an intimidating guy. You smiled, unsure of what to say. _Terran_ was their word for Earthling, maybe?

“And I am Gamora.” The green woman said, leaning in a nearby doorway. You waved a hand at her in greeting.

Star-Lord was sitting on the edge of the hole that Drax had pulled you through off the ladder. He stood and closed the hatch over the ladder. “Now come on guys, you’re gonna scare her.” He teased. “Where’s Rocket?” He asked looking at Gamora.

“He is in the cabin.” Gamora said before walking off.

“I’ll call him down... Ah naw, how ‘bout we go up there, you and I.” He said to you with a wink. You nodded, and followed him down a short corridor past a couple doors and entryways.

Walking past two small bunks and up a small set of stairs, you entered the cabin to see that it was just the large cockpit of the ship. In one of the pilot chairs was the raccoon-thing cleaning some sort of machine gun.

He turned to you, raising a hand (paw?) at you. “Hey.” He said, turning back to his gun. On the dashboard in front of him was something that made you draw nearer. It appeared to be a little stick in a white pot... Then you looked up and saw the stars.

“ _Oh my_...” You said walking towards the large window. In front of you were _millions_ of stars, and you could see gas giants and nebulae... It was so much more colorful and vivid and beautiful than you could have ever imagined.

It was a dream come true. _You_ were in space. Though you couldn't see it, both Rocket and Peter were watching you curiously, regarding your reaction to the world outside as novel. You looked almost ready to cry, and come on, who did that just by looking at the stars?

You turned back and noticed the little stick in the pot again, and your attention was diverted.

“That’s Groot.” Star-Lord said, walking up behind you. You looked turned to look at him and then back to Groot.

Upon closer inspection, the little stick had a sort of head and arms, and it had tiny green leaves growing from it. Then suddenly, it blinked open it’s eyes and smiled! You gasped and smiled, turning to look at Star-Lord once again. You noticed that Rocket was looking up from the weapon to watch you.

Groot began waving his arms around and you moved your hand forward to touch him. It reached forward with its arms and hugged your index finger close.

“He likes you.” Star-Lord said.

“He likes everyone.” Rocket interjected, probably just to make Star-Lord mad. “Hey, what’s your name?” He asked, changing the subject to you.

You looked at Rocket, it still being incredibly odd to be around him. “I’m __________.”

“__________, huh? That’s the weirdest name I've ever heard, kid. It sounds like it comes from—” Rocket started. You raised your eyebrows curious about what he was going to say.

“Shut up, _raccoon_. Have you heard your own name lately?” Star-Lord said, not wanting Rocket to say something mean again.

“Hey, Hey! Watch it! I’m not a raccoon! Don’t you _ever_ call me a raccoon.” Rocket said angrily, jumping up and standing on the seat and pointing at Star-Lord.

“__________, __________! What does he look like to you?” Star-Lord said with an innocent look. Both he and Rocket waited your answer eagerly.

“Uh, if it talks like a person, thinks like a person, and walks like a person, then it must be a person?” You said. The three of you smiled, and the argument was over, the tension in the room practically gone.

Rocket smirked and nodded to you. “I like you, you know that?”

You laughed, but it triggered a lot of pain in your stomach. Groot let go of your hand, and continued to wave his hands around in an obliviously cheerful way, making you smile through the pain.

Concerned, Star-Lord rushed to you and helped you sit down in the unused pilot’s seat, swiveling it so that it faced him. He removed your messenger bag over your head and he knelt down in front of you.

“I’m fine, really.” You insisted, though the grimace on your face suggested otherwise. Star-Lord opened the coat and lightly touched your belly-button through your black shirt. You hissed and your stomach muscles contracted in response. Rocket watched with interest as Star-Lord examined the red blood on his fingertips.

“I knew it. Those idiots have no damn idea what to give a human to knock her out. We're a pretty rare species up here.” He said in an upset tone. You blushed as he lifted your shirt gently past your belly button, revealing a small circular wound that was bleeding. “Rocket.” Star-Lord commanded.

Rocket jumped out of his seat to open a low drawer that contained various medical supplies. He grabbed an armful at random and dropped it on the floor next to the chair. Star-Lord picked up a small tool and clicked it on, it coming to life with a whirring noise and the tip of the tool shining an electric blue.

“This is gonna hurt for like a second, but I promise it’ll stop the bleeding and the pain.” He said, his green eyes looking into your own. You nodded, kind of dreading whatever he was gonna do.

He touched the light to the puncture wound, and you heard the sound of skin being fused together inside your body, and outside. Gross. You bit your tongue and squeezed your eyes shut. I hurt like hell for a few moments, and then it was over. You looked to see that the whole area was irritated and there was a smallish scar where the wound had been.

Star-Lord unraveled a silver-looking bandage. “The tool they used to knock you out wasn’t meant for humans, and it went deep into your body. It's really only meant for species with more than two hearts.” He said. You nodded half-heartedly, your imagination going wild.

“If I hadn’t healed it just now, the internal bleeding could’a killed you. The bandage will cool the area down for a little while. You can take off later.” He finished.

He reached his arms under your shirt and around your back to wrap the cold bandage around your waist several times, covering your tummy and lower back fully. Every time his hands touched your skin, you had to suppress a shiver.

You remembered that little device in your ear in told them about it. It turned out that it was a (mostly) universal translator, and that they were given out to anybody who didn't have them. Rocket said they were probably the most common device in the whole galaxy. He continued talking about the knock-out device that had been used on you.

“If they used that thing, she must have been out for days.” Rocket said, realizing with pity. It was as if Rocket had said the magic words. You suddenly got ravenously hungry and thirsty.

“Thanks, Star-Lord. I know—” You stopped because Rocket had started laughing, and Star-Lord smiled and looked at the ground.

“His name’s Quill. Peter Quill.” Rocket said, still snickering. You smiled.

“Well then, thanks Peter...Quill. Do you have any food, I mean I’ve been out for days...but...” You said a bit shyly.

“Holy shit! I shoulda thought of that.” Peter said, smacking himself on the forehead. “You must be totally hungry. You’ll be exhausted too... Hey, Rocket, could you get somethin’ for __________ to eat? I’ve got to... I have something to do real quick. I’ll see you in the kitchen in a sec. Oh, and you’ll need a new shirt.” He said before getting up, popping a cassette out of a tape player in the wall, and climbing out of the cabin.

Wait, a _cassette_ and _retro player_? You’d have to ask him about it later. You then noticed all of the other 1980s memorabilia around the cabin.

You turned to Rocket as you put your messenger bag back on. “What was that about?”

“Probably went to go clean his room for you. And hide his _Nuorg_ porn or something.” Rocket said with a smile. You believed him, wondering what a ' _Nuorg'_ was.

The 'kitchen' was nothing more than a pantry and something that resembled a fridge and some microwave that took two seconds to heat food fully. There wasn't a table; Rocket told you it had been gambled to a lowlife on some stupid planet called _Guhiri_ in the 3rd quadrant.

Rocket reheated some sort of alien take-out noodles, and he moved a chair out for you to sit on. He got you a metal bowl and served some of the noodles and handed it to you. “These are my favorite.” He also tossed you a bag of water with a screw-on lid.

He kicked out a crate for himself and sat down near you. You weren’t sure how to eat the noodles so you drank the water and waited until Rocket sat himself down on a crate and began eating the large noodles with his bare hands out of the take-out carton. You picked one of the noodles up with your fingers and ate it, chewing carefully and swallowing. It tasted kind of like macaroni and cheese with a hint of something you couldn’t possibly begin to identify.

By the time you had finished, Peter reappeared, glad to see that you had eaten. He had been right, and you were really tired. Snatching the carton from Rocket, he began to down the noodles by tipping the box into his mouth. Rocket stood up and tried to grab the box back, but Peter kept him at bay with one hand. When Peter was satisfied, he handed the box back to Rocket who started grumpily eating again. " _Asshole_."

“So, you want to go take a nap? I mean you can take a nap if you want... By yourself... Or with me, if that’s what you want. I should probably wash you, I mean you should wash yourself up...” Peter stopped and looked away awkwardly, grimacing in embarrassment. " _Dammit."_  He swore. You were thoroughly amused, and you felt a little sorry for him.

“Way to go, _douchewaffle_.” Rocket said indelicately, cracking up.

“You probably don’t even know that means.” Peter said childishly. “Anyways _________, just come with me.” He said, using his thumb to point back to the hall.

Rocket really lost it. “He never trips up around girls!”

When you reached Peter’s room, you could still hear him laughing.

“Sorry ‘bout that. He’s a total butthead sometimes.” Peter said, shutting the door. You took your messenger bag off and set it on the ground.

Rocket had been right, the room was freshly cleaned, and it smelled like he just sprayed some sort of air freshener. His bed was large, and could tell that he had changed the sheets. It was no more than just a mattress on the floor, but it looked inviting to your tired body.

“I’ve got some T-shirts that would work for you.” He said, his voice was low and came from close behind. He slipped his hands over your shoulders and under the coat, pulling it off and tossing it lazily onto the floor.

You breathed in a broken breath as his hands slid down your arms. He was being awfully suggestive. He stayed there for a moment before speaking again and letting to go. Man, he probably was a total player. You weren't sure what to feel about it, with everything going on and all.

“Uh, there’s a washroom over there.” He said, pointing to a small door. He turned to the built in drawers on the wall and opened one, digging around.

You entered the small bathroom and peeled off your shirt and the bandage, washing the drying blood off yourself. The scar was barely noticeable now and the redness was mostly gone. You also washed your face. After swishing some water around in your mouth and doing a few other things, you heard a soft knock on the door.

“I found this for you.” Peter said through the closed door. You opened it a crack and covered yourself with your hands. He passed a hastily folded article of clothing. “It’s clean, by the way. I checked.”

You smiled and unfolded it to see that it was a huge blue t-shirt that had alien words and a logo on the front. You slipped it on to find that it comfortably ended at your lower thighs near your knees. He hadn’t given you anything to wear as bottoms, and you saw yourself blush a bit in the small mirror.

You briefly checked yourself over, noting your messy hair but not caring. You put your clothes and bandages into your arms and walked out to put them in your bag. Peter was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, listening to music on... a _vintage Walkman_?

“Just leave your stuff on the floor. I’ll get ‘em later.” He said, taking the orange headphones off and looking at you.

You set the things on the ground, sensing Peter’s gaze. “What’cha listening to?”

“ _Moonage Daydream_ , y’know, by David Bowie. Speaking of music, I got that shirt you're wearing at a concert thing, and man, the species that lived there are much larger than any _humie_. It looks totally good on you.” He said charmingly.

He patted the bed next to him, and you shyly made your way to him. You weren’t really experienced in the matters of sex, but you could just tell that Peter sure was. You decided you'd just follow your feelings; you _were_ basically living out a nerdy girl's dream.

You sat down and pulled the sheets to cover your legs. He handed the headphones to you and you listened for a bit, enjoying the retro music. You pressed the pause button and pulled the headphones off.

“Back on Earth, we call this _vintage_.” You said, holding up the Walkman and smiling.

“What year is it, on Earth?” He asked, looking at you with his head tilted.

“2015.” You said. “Why?”

“I was...taken...in 1988. When I was a kid.” He said, not looking too sad. You wondered why (or if) he hadn’t gone back to Earth. Maybe it meant that you couldn’t go back either.

“Man, have things changed. I’ve got things to show you later.” You gestured to your bag and changed the sad-sounding subject.

Peter got an excited look on his face. The more you thought about it, the more you couldn’t wait to show him. He took the Walkman back and put the headphones around his neck.

“I just want to rest for a while first.” You laid down, feeling the tendrils of sleep begin to curl around you instantly.

“Go right ahead. Also, I swear won’t try anything on you. I learned that’s a bad idea the hard way.” He said, pulling a blanket up over you.

You raised an eyebrow and looked at him, smiling a bit before closing your eyes.

His voice got quieter. “I know what it’s like to be plucked from your life to find yourself somewhere in the middle of the ‘verse a billion miles away from home. It’s not easy, but I’m right here with you, and I can get you through this.”

Those words were on your mind throughout your dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first act of fraud. Peter's so adoringly happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you call a reference within a reference? Inception, maybe? See if you can spot it. Hint: Flying Monkeys.

You woke up warm, comfortable, and with a stranger's arms snugly around you. “What the..." You panicked and struggled to jump up, disoriented and kind of freaked out. You got a bit tangled in the sheets, adding to your confusion.

"What the h-hell?” You said in a groggy tone, still half asleep and looking around the dimly lit room with an expression that conveyed lostness.

Peter stirred and mumbled a bit before sitting up, his hair slightly messy. He also looked at you in confusion and sleepiness before speaking. “You okay?”

Your brain scrambled for something to say. “Uh, wha...where...what time is it?”

He blinked a few times and checked his watch. “It says here it’s a tenth to the fourth parsec. It’s set to Nova Corps time, though... You sure you're okay?”

You looked around the room once again, and then back to the guy that you had been sleeping with. _Sleeping with_?

Oh, that’s right. You remembered the events of earlier ( _Today_? What constituted as days in space?), and Peter Quill, or Star-Lord, had let you take a nap in his bed.

“Listen, if it was the spooning, I swear I did _not_ do that consciously...” Peter said, putting his hands up in defense and smiling a bit guiltily.

Honestly, you were pretty fine about the spooning. You relaxed your tense body and laughed a bit. “I get super....I don’t know...confused? When I’m asleep in, uh, new places.”

“I totally get it” He said softly with concern. “You still tired?”

“I’m pretty okay now.” You said, checking yourself. You didn’t feel any pain around your stomach either. “How long was I asleep?” You stopped yourself, wondering if he could give you any units of time that you could understand.

“If I can remember correctly, your nap was maybe like three hours long?” He said with some uncertainty. You weren’t sure if you could take his words for granted, but it felt like you had slept even longer than that.

“I fell asleep too.” He said with a smile. You looked at his still boy-like features (though he didn't look a day over 30), wondering how old he was. Not that he could give you an answer with comprehensible measurement units.

You were both interrupted by knocking on the door. Peter suddenly quieted his voice and leaned to you, as if he were going to tell you a secret.

“I know it’s Rocket because the knocking came from lower down on the door. Watch.” He raised his voice again. “Enter.” He said with the silly air of a king.

Sure enough, it _was_ Rocket. You successfully held back a giggle.

“Quill, we’ll be entering Gramosian air shortly. There’s no way ‘round it, under it, or over it. If we pull out now, they’ll notice and get antsy. We need to go through to get to our port, and then there's that whole business with the Duchess...” Rocket said, looking at your exposed legs and then to Peter. You tugged the shirt down and pulled the sheets up a bit.

You looked at Peter, wondering what the problem was. He grimaced and looked slightly embarrassed. “In case they say something, I’ll have you know that it was _her_ that seduced _me_.”

Rocket laughed and left the room.

Peter yelled after Rocket. “ _No really_ , really!”

You put your hands up, not judging him and laughing. “So what exactly is the problem here?”

“Her Grandness, Duchess Iksae of Gramosia took a...a liking to me. And as anyone who has been to Gramos knows, it’s illegal for regular folk to be...” He cringed. “Intimate with with royalty there. So there you go.”

You nodded your head in understanding, but your eyebrows were still raised.

“I was punished, but Gramosian cops still won’t be all friendly with us if they see our ship. And I don’t see much of a way to avoid that.” He explained further.

“I kind of have a bit of a plan?” You said with much apprehension.

“That works for me!” Peter said, lighting up.

* * *

 The rest of the crew met in the kitchen and you explained your plan, if you could call it that.

“So I’ll just be acting captain while Star-Lord goes and hides.” You said, knowing that the plan sounded pretty dumb, even to you.

“This plan may work. They do not know your face.” Gamora said slowly, nodding her head. You were pretty surprised.

“Gramosians ain’t exactly known for being able to sniff out lies.” Rocket said, arms folded but with a look of approval on his face.

“Lies do not have a scent, but your plan may work.” They got from Drax.

“Peter, your pride won’t be damaged too much, will it?” You said turning to him, with a cheeky smile.

“Heck no. Being beat by a girl? Totally sounds like something that has, will, and would happen to me.” He said coolly. “They’ll buy it for sure.”

“Hey, do you know how to use any weapons?” Rocket asked. “Y’know, just in case?”

“Does Mace count?” You said with a nervous smile. Would pepper-spray even work against whatever Gramosians were?

“I don’t know what a mace is, but use this.” He tossed you a small gun-looking thing. “It don’t kill, but it can pack a punch. You just pull that thing on the top down and it’ll release auto-style.”

You still had no idea what it did, but you put it in the pocket of your dirty jeans anyways. “Sounds cool.”

Rocket nodded in approval at your words.

Peter took you back to the cabin and was giving you a crash course in starship piloting.

“So, in case of an emergency, just pull back and press that button. Rocket’ll help you too.” Peter said, gesturing to the controls.

“Just pretend you know what you're doing and the rest’ll follow through.” He said somewhat reassuringly. You felt that what he said was probably his life’s motto. “Oh, and I’m not going to tell you where I’m hiding, just so that you won’t accidentally give it away.”

Peter left, and when you entered Gramosian airspace, you were sure enough told to slow down through the starship intercom. Rocket, sitting in the co-pilot’s chair showed you how to stop the ship. The cops also said that they would board shortly. You told yourself to relax.

“This ship has been identified as the _Milano_ , owned and piloted by criminal 75795873948579.” The cop said, saying each number. “Also known as Quill, first name Peter, Jason. Prosecuted for a sex crime, fraud, and riotous behavior." You had to refrain from snickering at Peter's list of 'crimes'.

The police officer was tall with pointed ears and no hair, wearing a red and blue jumpsuit. It was a bit distracting, but you mustered up your acting skills.

“It _was_ owned by that bastard. Course till I won it in a mean game’a poker. _I’m_ captain now.” You said. For some reason, your 'captain' voice manifested with a Southern accent. Too much Syfy channel?

“Peter Jason Quill is not aboard this ship _Milano_ , correct?” The cop questioned.

“No sir. Everything's shiny here. He ain’t and _never_ will be on this starship.” You sure hoped the people of Gramos understood double negatives the way they were meant to be understood.

“Very well.” He said, turning to leave and sauntering out. He showed himself off the ship.

Rocket pointed to the controls. “Okay then.” You said, still using the voice and moving the ship forward within the designated speed limit.

When the ship was out of the danger-zone, Rocket took over piloting and told you where Peter was hiding.

“You did awesome.” Rocket said with a smirk as you were going down the ladder. You thanked him and winked.

Peter was hiding in the tiny and messy cargo bay. It was a pretty obvious place to hide, but the cop hadn't noticed him.

“You can come out now, _Han Solo_.” You said cheerfully climbing down the ladder and looking for where Peter was hiding. He certainly did remind you of a certain scruffy-looking nerf-herder.

He jumped out of a large crate. “I understood that reference!” He said proudly. “ _Star Wars_! The second movie came out when I was born. I practically grew up watching them.”

“Me too!” You said happily. “There’s like three more movies and another one on the way. You know, you're in luck because I actually have all six movies on my iPod.” You wondered if you would ever get to see the next Star Wars movie.

“ _iPod_?” Peter repeated the strange word.

“Yeah, it’s kind of like the modern version of a Walkman. Except it doesn’t play tapes and can hold hundreds of songs and movies on it.”

“Kind of like a synthesis-transmuter?” He asked, trying to figure it out.

“I don’t know what that is, but I guess so. Let’s go!” You said pointing up the ladder. Then you noticed something interesting in the cargo bay.

“Is that the satellite _Tenacity_? _NASA’s Tenacity_? How’d you get that?” You recalled that the satellite had gone missing in the news.

“Oh, the NASA scoutship thing I stole? I just wanted to mess with them, so I stole it and disabled it.” He said proudly.

“ _Stole it_? Man the world went crazy when this thing disappeared. It cost a lot of money...” You said with a laugh. Your astronomy class had been abuzz with theories. They were technically right in the end: a spaceman did have something to do with it.

“It’s not like it was the first expensive thing I’ve ever stolen. And hey, you ain’t exactly crimeless yourself now. You could be traced for fraud.” He said with a smile.

You laughed and climbed up the ladder with Peter right behind.

* * *

 “This is like deja-vu!” He shouted because of the headphones. He was was watching _Star Wars_ from 1977 on your iPod. He wanted to watch them in the order they were made for nostalgic reasons. “I really have been drawing character from Han Solo. Awesome.”

“There’s so much more to show you. That is, if I can get my iPod charged.” You had brought the charger, but where would you plug it in to?

Peter paused the movie and pulled his headphones off. “I think I know just the place.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knowhere is proving to be quite a great first inter-galactic destination. Of course, there's some unusual danger there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's finally time to update, and I hope I did okay. Here's what I had in mind for the jumpsuit (though you can totally substitute whatever you want):
> 
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/be/70/78/be7078aa7f41f25120b6dc2681972b1a.jpg
> 
> Hope you like this chapter! Thanks for reading!

“ _Oh my god._ ” You whispered. You were leaning on the back of the pilot’s chair Peter was sitting in, looking over his shoulder through the large window and to the _giant floating head_. ‘Giant’ wasn’t even the right word. The head was _colossal_.

“Welcome to the wonderful sensory-overload colony known as Knowhere.” Rocket said, turning to you. “The place smells like a fricken’ dump. Hate goin’ here.”

“So it’s an actual _head_?” You said, watch the massive clouds of green and yellow gas nebulae fly by, their slightly morbid destination looming closer and closer.

Peter spoke, still easing the controls of the _Milano_ towards an opening in the skull of the monster. “Yup. They’re still mining the body matter of the thing. It died so long ago that nobody really knows much about it.”

“ _Ew._ ” You said, your face scrunching up in distaste. It was pretty gross.

“Hey, the spinal fluids are like super precious.” Peter said, defending the place he was rather fond of. Well, sort of fond of.

“Will I see aliens?” You said, realizing that the term ‘aliens’ didn’t really apply anymore.

“Trust me __________, _you’re_ the alien here.” Peter said with a smirk, excited to show you something you’d never seen before. “You’ll see things that are normal here, and you’ll find yourself being the strange one.”

Drax was sitting near the back of the cockpit in his seat, listening to your conversation and reading a blue-interface book, not too different from the technology you’d seen when you had taken a trip to the Stark Expo back in 2010. That had been a fun experience, and Tony Stark himself had winked at you playfully before he had ducked into a limo.

“She will look like a slave woman.” Drax stated, looking at you bare legs and enormous t-shirt. It had been a day or three since the thing with the Gramosian cop. Your Earth clothes had gotten too dirty to wear and since the _Milano_ had no laundry system, they had to make a stop somewhere to get it done. At least the ship had a shower, but it only had like 60-seconds of lukewarm water.

They had been headed to Knowhere for some job related stuff with a guy named Irikal and to find an adapter for your iPod charger, despite the expensiveness of fuel and the grubbiness of the colony, and they’d also do their laundry at a laundry business there.

Since then, you’d been wearing Peter’s old concert t-shirts, the ones that were much too large for you. Gamora didn’t actually change clothes very often, her species and the fact that she was genetically modified meant that she didn’t sweat or anything (according to Rocket).

Peter sputtered for a second at Drax’s observation before agreeing completely. “Yeah. You do.”

Rocket snickered like he usually did, making you blush at the implications of looking like a slave girl would bring to the minds of the people you saw, and to the mind of Rocket.

“Hey, there’s plenty of slave girls in the universe. You’ll fit right in.” Rocket said to you with a grin, making you purse your lips in embarrassment.

“Nah. We’ll get her some clothes.” Peter said, thinking of the many shops that you could buy some more practical clothes in. “Hey, Gamora!” He called down from the cockpit to where she was probably on her bunk.

Gamora strode up the steps with an impatient look on her face. You still marveled at how strikingly beautiful she was, green skin and all. You could tell that Peter and she must have had something kind of going on (or maybe they still did).

“Yes Quill?” She asked. Sometimes she was even more formal than Drax.

“__________ needs clothes. I thought maybe you could help her get something.” Peter said with an innocent look on his face, being ever the adult nine-year-old that he was.

Gamora frowned, annoyed by Peter’s slightly sexist antics. “You are implying that because I am female that I can choose clothes for her?”

Peter looked over to Gamora, thinking over her words. “Yes.” He thought some more, raising his hands up defensively off the controls. “Okay, okay. I get your point and I’ll try not to generalize like that again.” Gamora nodded, sitting down in her seat behind you. Peter was still learning about being around women all the time, and how to think about them in a generally non-sexual way.

“So I’ll just take her then.” Peter said, shrugging and readying the starship to enter into the deceased Celestial’s head.

Gamora thought about what Peter could possibly convince you to wear, and she shook her head. “No, I'll take her.”

Gamora’s thoughts went to the so-called 'Princess Leia' that she’d seen on the screen of your handheld device and her lack of clothing in whatever film Peter had been watching with you. Peter had been quite enamored by her metallic chest coverings.

“Hold on tight.” Peter said, changing the subject as the starship entered the artificial atmosphere of Knowhere.

There were ships and pods flying everywhere, and the whole place seemed to be made out of metal. There were clusters of dwellings that reminded you of the favelas of Rio, and far below there were people bustling around what appeared to be a huge marketplace.

The _Milano_ landed smoothly, and you felt giddy with excitement and nervousness. In the cargo bay after climbing down the ladder and feeling kind of self-conscious about your lack of pants, Peter went over the plans.

“Okay, so Gamora will take __________ to buy some clothes. Me, Drax, and Rocket will go do some business with Irikal, our man, and then we’ll all meet up at The Collector’s collection place. He’s the only one who I think would have an iPod charger adapty-thingy.”

The circular cargo bay door unlocked, the pressure locks un-engaging making your ears hurt. You were met with a rush of people, a pretty bad stench in the air, and of both darkness and lights of neon.

You took a step forward, but found your legs wobbly under a new-found increase in what felt like your weight. Peter held you up, smiling. You looked confused.

Rocket looked up at you, the gun on his shoulder looking far too large for him. “Yeah, forgot to tell you that our grav-system’s a bit wonky. The gravity here’s gonna take a little bit to get used to, ‘specially for a humie like you.”

You nodded, standing by yourself and finding stability. It was an odd feeling, not being able to feel the constant thrum of starship engines. You did however feel an odd and lightly faint vibration in the dirt of the ground outside of the _Milano_. You looked at back at the starship for the first time, seeing just how large the orange and blue ship really was. It was smaller on the inside.

You waved to the boys as they left, and it was just you and Gamora.

Gamora hadn’t been unfriendly to you, she just hadn’t really talked much. She preferred to be on her own most of the time.

She started walking towards a street lined with market-stalls and shops, and you followed her, staying quiet and watching the odd assortment of people walking by. People that were bright pink, and some that were furry. Others with strange tattoos and more than two eyes.

It was amazing and kind of frightening, but you didn't dwell on it too much.

Gamora stopped in front of a stall with a bright purple curtain covering the front. “This stall is for female-identifying only. We should find what we need here without being harassed.” She said. You figured that harassment happened often on Knowhere, and Rocket said that the place was the most unlawful planet in the quadrant.

A friendly-looking female humanoid sat in the back of the stall, beckoning you and Gamora to enter with a smile revealing too-many teeth. Despite that, the humanoid wasn’t threatening.

As you looked at the odd assortment of clothes, seeing things and garments you’d never seen before, and you realized something. “Uh, Gamora?”

She looked up from the pair of boots she had been inspecting. “Yes?”

You suddenly felt kind of embarrassed. “I have no idea what I’m looking for. Or doing.”

Gamora smirked, endeared by your naivety and surprising you. Since you’d met her, you hadn’t seen her so much as have a twinkle of amusement in her eyes, and now she was smiling?

She walked over to the humanoid woman, asking her something. The woman croaked something back, though you couldn't hear it, gesturing to a rack of clothing near the back of the booth.

“She says that she can tell someone’s size by looking at her.” Gamora said, making you smile.

Gamora and you looked through the clothes, though you weren’t really paying attention to anything you saw. Gamora picked something out, handing it to you. “This outfit should look well on you. Wear these as well.” Gamora tossed to you a pair of way-too-large pearlescent undergarments made from an unidentifiable material.

You looked around self-consciously before taking your clothes off, and putting on the under-garments on. Gamora was turned away, looking for a pair of boots and some other things for you to wear. To your surprise, the undergarments tightened to fit your body perfectly.  _Back to the Future_ much?

The garment Gamora had handed to you turned out to be some sort of leather-like jumpsuit that zipped down the front. You put it on, finding that it was surprisingly comfy and breathable. There was a blue interface mirror in the corner, and you turned to look at yourself.

You looked pretty badass, and Gamora said that both the material of the undergarments and jumpsuit were self-cleaning, so no laundry from you anymore.

You put on a pair of colorful neon boots and fingerless gloves that Gamora had picked out. You felt like you belonged in a video game or comic book or something.

Gamora paid the woman with a multipass-like card and put your old clothes and shoes in the black messenger bag she’d been wearing before leaving the stall with you.

“Thanks.” You said, looking down at your new boots and walking back up the street in the direction of the Collector’s Museum.

“There is no reason to thank me. As Peter has told me, we will need to stick together.” She said earnestly, smirking a bit again.

You stopped to watch an alien apply a dark paste to a human-looking male’s hair. Within a few seconds, his hair turned a glowing orange and the alien rinsed the paste out. You smiled in delight, amazed by it.

“You would you like to do that? It would suit you.” Gamora said. You turned to look at her, noticing the bright magenta in her dark hair.

“Yeah, I think I would.” You said smiling. Gamora nodded, and helped you pick out what you wanted.

It didn’t take long at all, and you soon had your favorite color at the very ends of your hair, slightly similar to Gamora’s.

After walking some more, you and Gamora stopped in front of a large building that looked to be currently under partial construction.

“This is the Museum, home of Tanaleer Tivan and his collection.” Gamora stated. “He collects rare objects. People and animals too.”

“People?” You asked, getting an odd feeling about that. Odd and uncomfortable.

“Yes.” Gamora said. “Do not insult him. He owns the colony, and he is the main power around here. He takes as he pleases.” Her warning makes you nervous.

You were about to ask some more questions when you heard Rocket loudly joke. “Is that __________? It can’t be __________. This chick’s too hot to be her.”

Gamora rolled her eyes, making you smile. You turned around to see Rocket still carrying his weapon, and Peter who was grinning like an idiot.

“You look really, really great.” Peter said, noticing your hair. You fit in more now, but folks would still be able to tell that you’re not from around the galaxy.

“How did the transactions go?” Gamora said, crossing her arms.

Rocket answered in a casual tone. “Aw, you know how business usually is with Irikal. Dumb negotiating, him wantin’ more, us gettin’ less. Me pointing _this_ at him.” Rocket shook the gun a bit.

Peter nodded. “Speaking of which, __________’s got to have a lesson or two with a gun while we’re down here. Maybe later.”

You nodded smiling. “Where’s Drax?” You asked, realizing that he wasn’t to be seen.

“He’s out buying some stuff, books I think.” Peter said, “I don’t think he wants to see the Collector.”

Rocket laughed. “Ha! Don’t blame him.” Foreshadowing to the max.

The four of you ascended the steps to the door, and Peter knocked, making you recall what Gamora had said about the man who owned the place, who owned Knowhere.

The door opened, revealing a pretty Krylorian woman with pink skin and a white and silver mini-dress. Her eyes were a bizarre bright green, and there was a small, scarred pattern on her chin. Her smile was forced, and her hands were clasped tightly in an awkward manner.

“I am Mara, attendant to the wonderful Tanaleer Tivan!” She said with some flourish in a high, taught voice. “Please leave all weapons here at the entrance!” You could tell that something was seriously messed up about her. She turned around, and walked in a funny controlled mince. “He is expecting you, and he is so happy to see you again.” She said. Peter was in the front, and you followed him, with Gamora and Rocket behind you.

You frowned as you saw the many glass containers holding not only unusual objects, but many species. It was like  _Silence of the Lambs_ sort of creepy. It was dark, and smelled like a pet store and exotic perfume, and you could hear the sounds of unidentifiable animals howling and calling. The place was under major reconstruction, and you wondered what had happened.

“The enigmatic Star-Lord and his companions!” An airy voice graciously welcomed your party. You stepped to the side to see whom the voice belonged to, Peter being hard to see over.

The man who had spoken was very tall, but that was the least unusual thing about him. His white hair was slicked back, and he wore dark, extravagant clothes with a fur cape over his left shoulder. He looked like royalty, and maybe he kind of was. Around his sleepy eyes was heavy eyeliner, and he had minimalist tribal-like makeup on his chin and forehead.

“How are you doing this evening, Peter?” The Collector said, bowing and accentuating the syllables of his words.

“Yeah, we’re doing fine. It looks like your collection’s coming along nicely again.” Peter said, his tone the exact opposite of the Collector’s.

“Gamora, thank you for contacting me again.” The Collector said with a charming smirk, kissing Gamora’s gloved hand. She had been the one to let him know that they were coming.

When he turned to Rocket, you knew that he was saving his greeting to you for last, and it made you feel antsy.

“Rocket... And where is the lovely Groot?” The Collector said, bending over slightly to be more on Rocket’s height level.

Rocket sniffed arrogantly, never having liked the man. “He sure ain’t here.”

“Wish him well for me.” The Collector said in a slightly irritated voice, his grey eyes now focusing on you.

“And you... are not of the Xandarian race.” He stated, stepping in front of you. You looked ahead into his chest, wondering how he had easily realized that you weren’t Xandarian, a people who looked pretty much exactly like humans.

You bit the inside of your cheek and thought of something to say, but Peter spoke protectively before you could. “No, she’s Terran, like me.”

“Ah... I see.” He reached for your hand, pulling it to his chest. “Terran men I know, but I have never had the pleasure of meeting a Terran _female_ before.” Your blood ran cold. Never having met a girl of your species before means that he didn’t have one in his collection.

Gamora’s eyes widened imperceptibly in alarm, and she looked to Peter with an expression that he knew well. One that said that they should tread lightly to avoid serious problems. Rocket’s hands twitched, and he wished he still had his gun.

“I am Tanaleer Tivan.” He whispered strangely, pulling your hand tighter against his rib cage for you to feel his bizzare heartbeat, much, much slower than any human’s could be.

“I’m __________.” You smiled politely, and he released your hand.

“That is a most... unusual name... What are you in search of today?” Tanaleer said, stepping back to speak to Peter, though throwing subtle glances in your direction every so often, as though to make sure that you were still there.

“We’re here to find an adapter for the charger of her, uh, iPod.” Peter said in a mostly business-like tone. “I’ve got 8-T sockets in the _Milano_ , she’s got a....” Peter pulled the charger from his coat pocket. “This thing.” A USB connection, though he didn’t know that.

Tanaleer inspected the charger with interest. “I do believe that I have something. Mara, fetch the small device from container A-113.” He ordered. You wondered if Tanaleer knew exactly where everything in his collection was located.

“Yes Master!” Mara said meekly, nodding her head rapidly and stepping quickly out the room with those strange, measured paces.

“Please excuse her, I only purchased her recently. I needed a replacement, as you know.” Tanaleer said to Peter, making him and Rocket laugh a little. You couldn’t help but feel like you were missing out on some sort of joke that everyone got but you.

“Tanaleer?” You asked, unsure of what to do, seeing as Rocket and Peter were discussing something in a hushed, non-understandable tone.

“Yes, my dear?” The Collector said softly, blinking his eyes languidly and stooping closer to you.

“How could you tell that I wasn’t Xandarian?” You questioned, looking away from his close proximity. Tanaleer reached out and turned your face towards his, ignoring what was the Earth standards of personal space.

“It is in the eyes. Your eyes have so much more life in them than any Xandarian’s! Peter Quill’s eyes are very much the same.” He said, making you smile awkwardly.

Mara returned a few moments later, holding a velvet-lined tray with a small hexagonal-shaped device on it. Tanaleer held it up to Peter, turning it over. It had some sort of stylized eagle logo on the side that you could swear you'd seen somewhere before on Earth, and it would accommodate both the _Milano_ and the USB side of your charger.

“This device...I do not know much about it, but it recently found its way from Terra to my collection. I payed quite a large sum for it... That is why, I’ll be asking the same of you.” The Collector said mysteriously.

“Okay, man. What’s a large sum to you? 15,000 units? Or how about 20,000?” Peter said conversationally, digging through his knapsack for his wallet.

“Oh no, not units...” Tanaleer turned to you. “What I ask of is either a small amount of her blood... or her _entirety,_ for my collection.” He said, dramatically gesturing to you and making your eyes widen in alarm.

“ _Uh_ , please excuse us for a second.” Peter said with a fake, nervous laugh as he held you by the arm, pulling you away from Tanaleer and around the corner so your small group could have a discussion.

“I know it’s _so_ super-duper creepy, but what’s the big deal with giving him some blood?” You asked in a hushed tone.

Rocket answered, “It’s because we don’t know what he could do with it. He could clone you for all we know, or get one of those devices where he could control you, I think.”

“Yeah, that _and_ it’s super-duper creepy!” Peter said, repeating your words. “Blood trade’s risky. We can figure out another way to watch _The Phantom Menace_. It’s your decision, though.”

You straightened up, having decided to go though with the transaction. “Tanaleer?” He’d been standing nearby, watching patiently with an unusual expression.

“Yes, my dear?” He replied, _totally_ being super-duper creepy.

“I’ll take up on that offer. The blood one, not the other one.” You said, clarifying yourself.

“Of course.” Tanaleer said, snapping his fingers, ordering Mara with a wordless command.

Mara returned quickly with another tray with another odd device on it. It reminded you of the guns used to pierce ears, except this one had a small tube on the back of it. Tanaleer held it and motioned for you to hold your arm out.

He pressed the end of the device to the inside of your right elbow. He clicked it the trigger, but you didn’t feel any pain and the small tube filled up with your dark blood. It was over and done with. You couldn’t even see where the needle had entered your skin.

Tanaleer removed the tube from the device, holding your blood close to his chest. “Thank you, I will keep this safe until the end of time, and I will not do any of the things that were suggested I might do...” He said, the look in his eyes revealing that he was being truthful. “You needn’t be anxious.”

“Well, uh... There’s food that’s calling our name.” Rocket said quickly, wanting to get out as soon as possible. The Collector nodded.

“Bye Mr. Collector.” Peter said, quickly taking the adapter device from Mara. You looked back to Tanaleer.

“Until the forces of the galaxy wills our paths to cross again...” Tanaleer said, bowing deeply and looking up at you. You waved a hand in an awkward farewell.

Once outside, the smoggy, foul-smelling 'fresh' air was a pleasant change from the suffocating humidity of the Museum. Peter turned to you. “I don’t know if you’re brave or just stupid.” He said, though not angrily. If anything, it seemed like he had a look of admiration.

“Probably both.” You said smiling, mostly glad to be out of the Museum. “Where to next?”

“It’s been _way_ too long since I’ve gotten drunk!” Rocket said excitedly, making Gamora groan. When Rocket got drunk, that meant Peter would get drunk, and if both Rocket and Peter were drunk, then Drax would get drunk too.

“We’re going to the _Boot of Jemiah_ , only the finest outlaw bar on this side of the universe! Drax said he’d meet us there.” Peter said, turning to watch at you look at all the marketplace. He would never get tired of you seeing things for the first time and the four of you continued down the street.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some updates! Sorry it's taken so long, but I hope you like it. Thank you for reading!
> 
> Believe it or not, I've only created one OC in this chapter. I wonder who will get my references... :)

The Boot of Jemiah was very aptly named, as it harbored of the scum of Knowhere and collected filth and bad smells. You were loving it: the greenish lighting, the colors and sounds, and the weird music that Peter hated whole-heartedly and Rocket loved. It was a bit disorienting though, and you had this weird feeling that you couldn’t yet identify.

Rocket and a slightly-drunk Drax were loudly participating one of the gruesome Orloni-F’aksi mini-gladiator games. You learned this from Drax, who happily (and simply) explained it to you. Peter was busy hustling some drinks, leaving you and Gamora sitting quietly at a small ovular table in the corner.

You heard the loud voice of a female from the direction of the games and you looked to see an impish girl in blue overall-looking clothes and with messy brown hair standing on the fight table, holding Drax’s arm up in victory. Standing on the table, she matched Drax’s height. Everyone was cheering excitedly, even the loser of the game.

Drax helped the girl jump down from the table, smiling in your direction. He yelled over the crowd, his deep voice bellowing above the voices of the other people in the bar. “__________! Come and meet one of my companions! I believe you will enjoy her company!”

Gamora smirked at you and got up to walk to Peter to help with his failing transaction for reduced-price drinks as you stood up and made your way over to Drax and the small woman.

Drax rubbed the girls head, messing up her ratted hair further and irking her playfully. She pinched her face and looked up at him with affectionate anger before shoving off him to greet you. Up close, she was just as grimy and colorful as the bar itself.

Drax spoke happily. “__________, I would like you to meet Sindel, manager of the F’saki game!” He leaned over to Sindel and spoke as though he were telling a secret, “She’s a Terran.”

“You have uni-translator?” Sindel spoke with a cutesy accent, though her tough tone reminded you of someone from New Jersey. You nodded, touching your ear and feeling the embedded piece of metal. “Good. What’ya know ‘bout F’saki animals?” Sindel said, starting a fun conversation that involved petting the weird alien-like creatures. Peter joined you and you were having fun in no time.

That feeling was building up though, putting a damper on your mood.

* * *

Sometime later, you found yourself sitting outside on the sort of patio that overlooked more of the beautiful nebulae outside of Knowhere, your legs between the bars of the fence, seemingly dangling above the rest of the universe.

You finally identified that odd feeling that had been growing, but only after it hit you like a block of concrete. It was a cruel mix of culture shock and homesickness. The thing was that when you thought about what you had holding you back to Earth, there wasn’t much. No family, for one. Also, certificates in Astronomy 101 are worth nothing in space. But you missed your tiny apartment, and the routine you had. It was a good thing you didn’t have pets.

But still.

“Are you experiencing sorrow?” You heard from behind you, immediately recognizing Drax’s voice. He didn’t sound drunk or loud this time.

You turned to look at him, curious about how Drax, the most blunt and tactless person you’ve encountered in the universe, could be asking something like that. He came and sat down cross-legged next to you, setting his dual knives on the ground at his side.

“Did I ever inform you of the fate of my wife and my daughter?” He said, looking at the colors and clouds before him.

“No, you haven’t.” You said softly, encouraging him to continue.

“My wife Hovat and my daughter Kamaria were taken from me, killed by a despicable Kree tyrant.” He spoke, sadness in his eyes. “I suffered that pain for many years. It was necessary to flee my home, though I had no holdings left to it. And yet I still grieve.”

You were quiet, looking down at your booted feet, swinging gently. You sighed and had to bite back tears, not only for you, but for Drax as well. He reached over and affectionately stroked your hair, making you look at him and laugh.

“Memories of them both are evoked when I see you. You have their spirit.” He said kindly, looking back at the stars. “The most successful way to continue on in life is wrathful revenge and ample amounts of distractio—”

As if timed, there was suddenly a commotion of sounds and frantic activity from inside the bar, Drax grabbed his knives and jumped up picking you up and setting you on your feet. The two of you rushed inside.

“It is Nova Corps!” Drax announced loudly watching the two Robocop-looking uniformed guys emptied the bar of all except for your friends. Sindel was angrily gesturing and speaking rapidly to one of the officers, but he just told it would only take a short amount of time. The other officer was smiling widely at Peter.

“Nova scum!” Sindel said to everyone, grumbling on her way out and closing the door. Her high pitched shouting could be heard from outside.

The smiling officer took his helmet off, revealing a friendly-looking middle aged man with curly short hair. Peter and Rocket groaned.

“Star-Guy! It’s been a while, hasn’t it buddy?” He said walking over to your group, Peter rubbing his eyes. The other officer stood stoic and official by the door and nodded while the curly-haired guy introduced him. “That’s Corpsman Darik.”

“It’s nice to see you and all, but what kind of business are you on today? Fun business, or _business_ business?” Peter said, a barely-concealed annoyed look on his face. “‘Cause the longer we keep those people out, the longer we can’t come in.”

“You haven’t changed a bit. Hey everybody! Hope you’re all doing well!” The guy said. He looked at you, “You’re new. What’s your name?”

“I’m __________. What’s yours?” You said. He seemed friendly enough, and Rocket had mentioned the Nova Corps a few times, usually in a semi-good light.

“I’m Denarian Dey of the Nova Corps, but you can just call me Rhomann Dey since your friends are my friends. Nice to meet you __________! Anyways, I am here on official business on the orders of Nova Prime. I think we should all sit down. It’s gonna be an interesting story. Also, did you know my daughter turned six last week?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gee, I wonder what this is inspired by! Anyways, I hope you like it! Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Rhomann Dey put his elbows on the large table, looking at Peter. “We know that before the events that took place last year, you were very good at retrieving stuff for people such as the likes of the Broker on Xandar. You almost never failed, according to our sources. And seeing how you and your team did in defeating Ronan, we know you guys are capable of anything.”

You leaned towards Rhomann and Peter and politely interrupted them, curious to know more. “What happened on Xandar?”

Peter answered casually. “We stopped this big bad guy from using a glowy bad orb-crystal and kind of saved the entire galaxy.” You nodded in awe. They hadn’t really mentioned that before. That's kind of a big deal.

“To put it simply, anyway.” Rocket added, nodding his head.

“Well Peter, we know that you were pretty much raised by that Centaurian Ravager Yondu Udonta. Do you know of where he might be?”

Peter suddenly looked very suspicious. “That guy would kill me on sight. I’ve been avoiding him like we avoid Galoidian contraband checkpoints... _But_ he’s probably somewhere in the Second Quadrant.” Peter looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Okay.” Rhomann said nodding, his cheerful attitude changing to a more serious one. “Four days ago, our Corpsmen on Hala... the Kree home planet... where the bad guy that wanted to destroy the galaxy came from... Well, Nova Corps intercepted a transmission from an area with known national extremist Kree activity from a planet called Ilor Kiti in the 1st Quadrant. The Kree Empire, though in a peace treaty with Nova, has been sending search and excavation teams to that area for a while. Our spies have shown us that they’re looking for artifacts from whatever ancient people used to lived there.

Ronan the Accuser was nuts about it, and I think it was part of their search for the Orb. We don’t know what the Kree government has to do with it, but it’s suspicious. We think maybe you guys can help us.”

Peter was speechless for a few moments, not liking where this conversation was headed. “Man.. I don’t know—”

Rhomann Dey interrupted him, remembering something important. “Oh, and he’s searching for something called the Key of _Vonden?_ ” He said the last part hesitantly, as if he didn’t know how to properly pronounce the word.

“Wait... Oh my God! I know that!” Peter said excitedly, “Can you repeat the name of the planet? I think it’s...”

“Ilor Kiti?” Rhomann said, surprised but happy beacuse of Quill’s sudden enthusiasm.

“That’s the where the Vessel of Kara is supposed to be hidden! You’ve never heard of it?” Peter said. Rocket jumped up in his seat in sudden understanding, and Drax nodded.

“I recognise the story.” Gamora said, and you just smiled not knowing what to say.

“I do know that story, the one where the Vessel was given by the Celestials to the people and it contained somthing like the secrets of the stars or whatever?” Rhomann said.

“Peter once told us the rumors of the Vessel of Kara being on Ilor Kiti. Nobody bothers to retrieve it; it is too dangerous, and there are low chances of entering the solar system without passing through the Cada asteroid belt unharmed. And it is a nothing but a legend.” Gamora said, sounding incredibly intelligent. “Like Footloose.”

You laughed suddenly at her words, and they all looked at you. Peter was the only one with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be hidden in some kind of secret cave called the Den of Death or some stupid-sounding thing...” Rocket joined in, excited to hear more about the famous legend. “And the land was wiped out by some dark force.” He made mystical hand gestures and used his 'I don't believe in this crap' voice.

“Well, it’s a good thing I have you guys on hand. You seem to understand a lot more about the situation than we do on Xandar. I wonder how the Kree got through the asteroid belt...” Rhoman said.

“Y’know who I learned all that info from? Yondu.” Peter said thoughtfully, looking at the dirty table. “I think he’s been to the Cada asteroid belt.”

“Well, the Kree transmissions have mentioned the name ‘Udonta’ several times. It’s definitely odd. We think the Kree Empire is up to something, and the peace treaty's been shaky lately.” Rhomann said, pulling out a portable interface projector and flipping through the files.

You decided to speak up. “I think they’re after Yondu because they think he might have the Key of Vhatever, since he's been there."

“The Key of Vondu.” Peter said. “It not only opens the Vessel, it tells you the location of it if you look through the hole-thing in the middle of the key. Like a... a primitive interface projector.” He said, gesturing to Rhomann’s device.

Rhomann was quiet, thinking the situation over. “They’re looking for the Vessel because they think it might contain infinite power of the Celestials. Like how Ronan wanted the Orb.”

Things just got super serious.

“Is Earth... Terra, in danger?” You asked suddenly concerned for your home planet.

“All beings could be in great peril.” Drax answered, making you even more worried.

“What does the Vessel look like?” Corpsman Darik asked from his spot, making everybody look over at him by the door.

“I don’t know. A treasure chest?” Peter suggested, unhelpfully.

“On my planet, there is a children’s storybook with an illustration of it. It appeared to be like a box, and it was depicted with many beams of energy emerging from its core. I am quite fond of that book.” Drax recalled. “It is often said that mediocre warriors in the possession of the Vessel of Kara are undefeatable.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Hey, Soul Sister](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2715710) by [ellebellah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellebellah/pseuds/ellebellah)




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